Review of 1970s Art Through the Works of Valerie Jaudon - Essay Example

19 Nov Review of 1970’s Art Through the Works of Valerie Jaudon Introduction This paper will show a review of the influence of the decoration and pattern movement of the 1970s and the artist(s) involved, were influenced, or anything to do anything with this time period. This paper will examine the works of Valerie Jaudon from the 1970s and what his influence was on that particular time period. Avalon This first work which will be looked at is called Avalon. Avalon was created in 1976 with oil and aluminum on a canvas that is 76 inches by 108 inches. This works uses a pattern which has black shapes outlined in white. This simplification of colors brings about a balance to the works that leans towards darkness in the hue with bright spots illuminating the shapes in the pattern of angles, waves, circles, and rectangles. The waves make it look as though they continue throughout the landscape of the painting. The craftsmanship of this painting is well done, where you cannot see the aluminum on the paper but how it is used to hold the pigment of the oil onto the canvas. Also, the contrast between the colors allows us to see how the patterns used goes in and out of each other and how they overlap, as well. His economy is well done, just using the basic colors and shapes with a focal point right in the middle of the painting where two diagonal shapes meet. The gestalt of the work is how the pattern gives it depth instead seeming to be just individual shapes and colors. The grid on this painting allows the artist to keep his shapes evenly spaced from one side to another. The implied lies are the ones that allow the Jaudon to show his shapes and patterns overall. Everything within the design of his painting Avalon are completely in portion form the radial balance going outward from the circles within the painting to the rhythm of the piece which gives a nice even flow from side to side. Furthermore, there are many shapes within the painting that are similar to one another but not identically the same on this very symmetrically balanced piece. There is probably some overall texture to this painting, it is an oil painting after all, but the visual texture reminds me of a very well planned wicker type design to the piece which brings a unity and harmony to the piece. Minter City A year later, she created a square piece on a 72 inch by 72 inch piece of canvas using oil and metallic pigment called Minter City. From first look at this painting with its burnt sienna hue, one can see that there is a definite radial balance within the symmetrical piece. The balance in this piece is easily seen as the design seems to hold a continuation of the same elements throughout the piece. Furthermore, the continuity of Minter City goes from the central focal point to the edges, but there is more continuity which comes from the four corners of the work and diagonally meets in the center of the piece. The exacting craftsmanship is shown in Jaudon’s piece as she shows us how meticulously laid out the abstract design. Furthermore, the gestalt of the piece shows an exacting unity amongst the flow of the rhythm and the basic economy of the design, which shows a minimalist approach to the overall value of the non-objective design. Mound Bayou This painting by Valerie Jaudon is the same size as Minter City and created with the same basic materials. However, that is where the similarities end between the two pieces. Mound Bayou definitely has a focal point in the middle of the painting. But, this painting seems to have a couple of rather complex rhythms running through the piece. Not only is there a radially balanced rhythm to the piece but there is another rhythm with the underlying crisscrossing diagonal lines, along with the interlocking chain of circles which seem to go right through the middle of the piece. You can easily see the continuation created by the various shapes throughout the piece. And the contrast between the sharp edges of the diagonal lines and the soft lines of the rounded shapes gives it a type of unity that brings a harmony amongst the different shapes within the gold colored piece. The emphasis on this piece, however, seems to be the layering of the different shapes to give it the look of weaving in and out of each other amongst the different shapes and patterns throughout the work. The gestalt of this piece shows that even a proportionally balanced piece which has a rather metallic look to the overall complexity of the rather minimally detailed piece. Jourdon seems to keep a theme throughout most of her works of a simple complexity. This simple complexity, which is evident in Mound Bayou, shows that even simple shapes and lines layered upon one another, weaving through one another can created a complex design without really having any details placed upon the work. And this work, in particular, looks as though it were attach to some sort of grid system to keep all the objects in the place they need to be in. And although there might not be any drawn out lines from start to finish in this piece, it is pretty evident that they are well implied in this piece. The are several “lines” going vertically up the work running parallel to one another. Kreole Kreole was painted in 1979 with oil paints onto a 48 inch by 96 inch canvas; it is much taller than it is wide. The colors greatly contrast one another. The black background allows for the red shapes to just pop out from the screaming at you. This piece looks similar to some of the designs in the older style cathedrals’ framework throughout Europe. The focal point lies in the middle of the piece, which seems to look as though it were farther away with the use of perspective in this piece. Valerie shows the viewer that even a two dimensional piece of artwork can look as though it were three dimensional and you were right there in the same room as the piece itself. The piece is symmetrically balanced, but the radial balance that was predominant in her other works is not predominant here. This works seems to lack the overall radial balance, but seems to be a little more complex in the overall line quality and the craftsmanship taken to create a piece that has a great design and look as though it were a three dimensional piece at the same time. Kreole has a pattern that looks as though it came from a time long ago, a time from an ancient society that has been lost. There are other designs similar to the overall pattern of Kreole that are much older than this painting. Patterns similar to this painting are ones from the Celtic druids of Ireland, the Mayans, and Incas, just to name a few. The visual texture that is shown by Jaurdon is reminiscent of deep cherry wood with the contrasting colors of black and red. Thus, the continuity of the piece seems to bring one from the outer edges of the lower portion of the painting on in towards the middle of the canvas as though one were walking down an arched hallway. And this one seems to be definitely on a grid to hold the complex design in place on the canvas as Jourdon painted it . Conclusion In conclusion, Valerie Jourdon’s works during the Pattern & Decoration movement became more complex and simplistic as time went on. The Pattern & Decoration movement of the 1970s, basically, shown by the artists, and Valerie Jourdon in particular, that a simplistic repeating pattern can be very decorative but with the use of bold colors and occasionally floral patterns in the work as well. Furthermore, this art movement also had some feminist movement ties as well. Jourdon shows that her work is definitely gridded like the minimalists used during minimalism, but also had some flair with the uniqueness of the patterns used throughout her works with the mixture of radial patterns and hard edged patterns. Her works became more than just a part of the Pattern and Decoration movement they also straddled the lines along Post-Minimalism seeming to bridge a gap between the two that she would hold onto throughout her esteemed career as a painter. Works Cited Valerie Jaudon. Avalon. 1976. Painting. Valerie Jaudon. Web. 20 Nov 2011. Valerie Jaudon. Minter City. 1977. Painting. Valerie Jaudon. Web. 20 Nov 2011. Valerie Jaudon. Mound Bayou. 1978. Painting. Valerie Jaudon. Web. 20 Nov 2011. Valerie Jaudon. Kreole. 1979. Painting. Valerie Jaudon. Web. 20 Nov 2011. Read More